Various ceramic materials are used commercially as the substrate for electronic assemblies and especially for large and very large size integrated circuitry (VLSI). The ceramics are suitable for such purposes because of their excellent thermal stability and low dielectric constant. However, the use of ceramics is not entirely satisfactory since such are relatively expensive and require relatively harsh conditions such as temperatures and pressures to fabricate and process.
On the other hand, certain cement compositions that are referred to as macro defect-free (MDF) cements have been investigated as replacements for the ceramics in electronic packaging applications because of their relatively low cost and ease of processing as compared to the ceramics. However, such cements have not been especially successful in view of their poor thermal stability and relatively high dielectric constants which are critical properties for substrates for electronic assemblies. Therefore, it is essential that the thermal stability and dielectric constant characteristics of a cement be improved if cement is to be realized as a suitable replacement for the ceramics.